Overview
- U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin ruled that the National Science Foundation violated her June preliminary injunction by suspending roughly 300 UCLA grants without grant-specific explanations.
- The order applies solely to NSF awards and does not cover NIH or DOE suspensions, leaving hundreds of millions in funding still frozen under other agencies.
- The administration must file a status report by August 19 detailing whether the NSF grants have been restored or explaining why reinstatement remains unfeasible.
- The ruling undercuts the White House’s reported $1 billion settlement proposal to resolve DOJ antisemitism findings at UCLA and adds pressure to ongoing campus negotiations.
- UCLA officials and California leaders warn that prolonged funding freezes threaten layoffs, cut graduate stipends and stall critical research on cancer, clean energy and other fields.